The opening session gave some of the drivers not involved in the
title battle a chance to shine as the track conditions improved for
the weekend. Adam Morgan, Brett Smith and Dave Newsham initially
topped the order with the Mercedes lapping a mere tenth of a second
away from Colin Turkington's pole position in the Subaru a year
ago.

Championship leader Ashley Sutton wasn't far off Morgan,
however, and held fourth place at the halfway mark, with title
rival Turkington in the lower reaches of the top ten. By contrast,
outside contenders Tom Ingram and Gordon Shedden were taking their
time to get up to speed.

Ingram improved to a top ten position late on, and was soon
joined by Shedden, just as Aiden Moffat moved up to head the order.
Losing out in this round of improvements was Turkington, who
dropped to 15th place, six tenths off the pace.

In the final moments, Morgan returned to the top of the times
and there were late improvements for Aron Taylor-Smith and Mat
Jackson, the former an impressive fourth in the MG, which has
struggled for pace throughout much of the season.

Of the title contenders, Ingram ended up fifth, three tenths
away from Morgan. Shedden was seventh, Sutton ninth and Turkington
15th

Tickets for the BTCC at Brands Hatch on 30 September-1
October are available on the gate for £15 on Saturday and £34 on
Sunday with free entry for under-13s. For more information call
0843 453 9000 or click
here.